1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with the field of devices for washing of conveying belts and articles traveling upon conveying belts. In particular the present invention is usable for the pre-cleaning of eggs immediately before they have been removed from poultry houses.
Eggs are carried from cages to the end of a poultry house in the configurations wherein they are deposited on a conveyor for gathering with the eggs of other poultry houses. This conveyor tends to get extremely dirty since the eggs are covered with broken eggs, eggshells, and yolk, as well as chicken excrement, feathers, blood and feed. This debris tends to gather upon the wire type conveyor belts utilized for carrying these eggs and these belts are extremely difficult to clean. The present invention provides a system for cleaning of this belt which is a problem which has heretofore not been directly addressed.
Eggs are normally washed at a more distant location adjacent to the accumulating conveyors, however, by that time dried yolk and dried blood tends to become extremely difficult to remove. Therefore the present invention provides a unique system for cleaning of the initial gathering conveyor as well as providing an initial cleaning of the eggs themselves. Since the eggs are randomly positioned upon the conveyor, a complete cleaning of the eggs is most difficult. However, by an initial pre-cleaning as disclosed in the present invention, most loose blood, yolk and other debris can be effectively removed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional egg washing systems utilize individual containers or egg receiving recesses for holding individual eggs during the cleaning operation. Spraying is normally done directly downwardly onto the conveyor thereby washing the entire egg. The present invention, however, deals with the problem of eggs prior to being placed within individual egg receiving recesses on a conveyor. Immediately before being removed from the poultry houses, eggs are randomly positioned upon conveyors and thereby full and complete washing is not yet possible. With the present invention, the pre-cleaning of the eggs is achieved while simultaneously the convoluted wire conveyor belt can also be cleaned. This wire conveyor belt is extremely difficult to wash due to the many angles and arcs through which the wires must extend in order to form a belt. With the present invention, an upper section of washing nozzles and a lower section of washing nozzles achieves a full and complete washing of the belt and an effective pre-cleaning of eggs or articles carried on the belt by having the nozzles both above and below the conveyor belt. Prior art devices do not consider the washing of eggs or articles normally when randomly positioned upon a conveyor belt and thereby do not normally utilize a lower bank of washing nozzles. Also prior art devices do not include deflector means for cleaning the front and back edge of eggs or conveyor belt sections by directly upwardly or downwardly directed nozzles as is achievable in the present invention.